November 29th, 2013

And so begins my third to last weekend in Europe.  This weekend we were off to Vienna for a healthy dose of palaces and Christmas markets.  The day began nice and early at 6am followed by a 5 hour bus ride to Vienna.  Upon arriving we dropped off our bags and headed out on our walking tour.  We went to the city center which was a 10 min walk away and one of the most overwhelming places ever.  Every building seems to be more beautiful than the last and it was very difficult to take it all in.  I'll post a few pics of what we saw on the tour now, but we ended up going back to the same places over the next few days to get a better look.  The two places we did go into were Churches.  The first church is the places where the hearts of the Hapsburg family are kept and the second is the main Cathedral in Vienna.

(Vienna)

(Vienna)

(Vienna)

(Vienna)

(Vienna)

"The Augustinian Church (German: Augustinerkirche) in Vienna is a parish church located on Josefsplatz, next to the Hofburg, the winter palace of the Habsburg dynasty in Vienna. Originally built in the 14th century as the parish church of the imperial court of the Habsburgs, the harmonious Gothic interior was added in the 18th century. Its official name is St. Augustine's Church, although the Viennese always called it the Augustinian Church."

(St. Augustine's Church)

(St. Augustine's Church)

(St. Augustine's Church)

(Vienna)

(Ruins of Medieval Vienna)

(Vienna)

(Vienna)

(Vienna)

(Vienna)

"St. Stephen's Cathedral is the mother church of the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Vienna and the seat of the Archbishop of Vienna, Christoph Cardinal Schönborn, OP. The current Romanesque and Gothic form of the cathedral, seen today in the Stephansplatz, was largely initiated by Duke Rudolf IV (1339–1365) and stands on the ruins of two earlier churches, the first a parish church consecrated in 1147. The most important religious building in Austria's capital, St. Stephen's Cathedral has borne witness to many important events in that nation's history and has, with its multi-coloured tile roof, become one of the city's most recognizable symbols."

(St. Stephan's Cathedral)

(St. Stephan's Cathedral)

(St. Stephan's Cathedral)

(St. Stephan's Cathedral)

(St. Stephan's Cathedral)

(St. Stephan's Cathedral)

(St. Stephan's Cathedral)

Our last stop of the night was the biggest Christmas market in Vienna.  It was amazing and looked like it came out of a story book.  We spent a few hours at this one drinking warm Christmas drinks and spending way too much money overall.  We bought some pretzels, roasted nuts and other goodies before heading off to a nice dinner of chicken noodle soup.  The first day was a little overwhelming just because of how much there was to see, but the Christmas market made up for that.  We went to be exhausted and excited to see what Vienna would offer tomorrow.

(Christmas Market)

(Christmas Market)

(Christmas Market)

(Christmas Market)

(Christmas Market)